Secretary General of OECD sanctions against Portugal and Spain – publico

 
         

                 

                         
                     

                         

                 

 
 

“No one should be punished.” Thus was the secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) disputed on Friday the possibility of Portugal and Spain are subject to penalties of Europe for failure to fulfill fiscal targets.

from Paris, the presentation of two reports on the economy and finances of the European Union (EU) and the euro zone, Ángel Gurría considered, quoted by Lusa, the two countries made a “major effort of fiscal consolidation “and they are among the most reforms adopted in view of the economic crisis. “It seems to me that no one should be punished,” he said, although he explained that does not advocate “discipline abandonment” of public accounts.

The most OECD responsible complained about the EU an exercise “controlled and collective “which has the horizon greater investment of public money in areas such as education. And mainly in measures to promote economic growth.

In its annual report for the eurozone, the organization concludes precisely that, “unlike the United States, investment is still far below the levels of 2007, in particular in the countries most affected by the crisis “as Portugal. But in addition to public investment, the OECD also calls for private help, admitting, however, that “the lack of predictability and stability of the legislation remains a major obstacle to doing business in the EU.”

the subject of sanctions to Portugal and Spain is still open, has been postponed to July the decision of the European Commission on possible measures to be implemented to punish the excessive deficit recorded by the two countries in 2015. the rules provide for sanctions on a country that has a budget deficit exceeding 3% of GDP and the consequences can pass, for example, by the suspension of EU funds.

Although European leaders may arguing that sanctions are provided for in the regulations, known by all States Member, many have been critical voices of a decision that the Commission may take in this regard. in Portugal, the Parliament approved on Thursday two votes of condemnation, a left and another set of PSD and CDS (and made possible by the PS), against the sanctions.

a kind of consensus that still could have gone further, since there were attempts to come out of the Parliament a joint release. Who stressed was the President himself, saying on Thursday that “the consensus in substance, the content is there, in the form, no. They say the same thing in different words. It is very Portuguese “. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he was “satisfied” but not entirely. “I would prefer the fine, but the good is already good.”